This invention relates in general to a compactor tooth for use on a compactor wheel and, more particularly, to a compactor tooth having a replaceable wear tip that is mechanically attached to a mounting block carried on the drum of the compactor wheel.
A compactor is a type of self-propelled work machine used at construction sites to compact fill dirt and at landfills to crush and compact waste and refuse materials. In landfill applications, the compaction of such materials reduces the size and bulk of the materials, which are then covered by a layer of soil. Compactors have wheels with large steel drums or rollers. The cylindrical exterior surfaces of such drums are commonly ringed with a large number of teeth to increase the compaction and crushing capability of the compactor. As such teeth are subject to wear, it is desirable to construct such teeth with replaceable tips or wear members, which are detachable mounted to an adapter or mounting block that is welded to the compactor wheel drum. In the past, steel pins and other types of retaining devices have been employed to detachably secure the tips to the mounting blocks. Statutory Invention Registration No. H946 for Tip And Adaptor Assembly, published Aug. 6, 1991 to Alan H. Lonn, discloses a replaceable tip that is pinned to an adapter by the insertion of a pin through aligned apertures in both components. Such pins, however, have been subject to frequent breakage due to loads being exerted on the retaining pin during operation of the compactor. Such pin breakage results in the loss of the tip and damage to the adapter.
It is therefore desirable to provide a compactor tooth that is not subject to failure of the retainer and to provide an improved compactor tooth that overcomes one or more of the problems associated with the above.
In one aspect of the present invention, a compactor tooth is disclosed for use on the cylindrical exterior surface of a landfill-compactor wheel. The compactor tooth includes a replaceable tip and a mounting block. The mounting block is secured to the cylindrical exterior surface of the wheel and has a mounting surface contacting the cylindrical exterior surface, a top surface remote from the cylindrical exterior surface, a pair of circumferentially-spaced sides, and a pair of axially-spaced sides. The circumferentially-spaced sides are oriented not more than 5 degrees from perpendicular to the cylindrical exterior surface of the wheel. The replaceable tip has a body with an exterior ground-engaging surface, a mounting end and a mounting block receiving cavity opening through the mounting end. The cavity is configured to receive the mounting block thereinto and has a bottom surface disposed for abutting engagement with the top surface of the mounting block. The cavity also includes a pair of circumferentially-spaced side surfaces and a pair of axially-spaced side surfaces. The circumferentially-spaced side surfaces are configured to be in close abutting relationship to a respective one of the circumferentially-spaced sides of the mounting block.